Flowering through snow and cold, plum blossoms are popular symbols of court beauties and of reclusion; as such, they embody romance, tears, lost loves, and the eternal return of springtime. Xu Jing entitled his painting The Pure Whiteness of Winter, partaking of a tradition of imagery in poetry and painting that goes back one thousand years.

Signature: Two-line inscription by the artist: "On the 15th day (the full moon) of the fifth month of xinyu of the Zhengtong era (corresponds to 1441), Xu Jing of Qingjiang painted this picture of "Pure whiteness holding the cold" for Mr. Guang Wenwang. (Three seals of the artist)